Unfinished RV Park Concern of Virginia Study

Jonesville town officials say a recently released audit of projects funded by the Virginia Tobacco Commission left out some of the details regarding why the Cumberland Bowl RV Park remains unfinished nearly four years after it was originally funded, the Kingsport, Tenn., Times-News reported.

The report, which was conducted by Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), singled out the RV park as an example of an investment by the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission that had little revitalizing impact on the region.

The report also noted that the project, which received $300,000 in funding, was still under construction as of March 2011 with approximately $120,000 of its grant left unspent.

“All we knew from the tobacco commission’s point of view is that this was a slow project and there was money remaining unspent, at least the last time we looked,” JLARC study leader Walt Smiley said.

“The project wasn’t finished, but it wasn’t because of the lack of funds. Usually they don’t have the money, but this case the money was there and they hadn’t drawn it down,” he said.